


Powerless Hakurei Tales 12.8: Fairy Wars

by Carmichael_Micaalus



Series: Powerless Hakurei Tales [15]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 09:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20579903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmichael_Micaalus/pseuds/Carmichael_Micaalus
Summary: Tragedy!Some malcontent miscreants have destroyed Cirno's house!  The world's strongest is on the case, with the greatest fairy backing her up!  Will she be able to solve the case?!





	Powerless Hakurei Tales 12.8: Fairy Wars

Powerless Hakurei Tales: 12.8: Fairy Wars 

  


“Hey, have you noticed that Reimu and Marisa have kinda… changed?”

Cirno looked at the blonde vampire, transferring the threads to her hands. “What do you- hold still- what do you mean?”

“Well…” Flandre’s head slowly tilted to the side as she thought. “Like, they’ve changed how they look. Marisa’s a lot taller than when I first met her, and Reimu… well, she’s not taller, but her hips are bigger.”

“Uh… huh.” As Cirno tried to keep the cat’s cradle from turning into a spider web, the tiny toothless cogs in her head slowly turned, cracking through their permafrost encrustment. “Well, that's 'cause-”

“And a bunch of little things, like their faces aren’t so round… Marisa’s eyes are a lot angrier, too…”

The ice fairy’s eyes made their way back up to the vampire’s face; Flandre looked back expectantly.

“...I have to go now.” Cirno smiled, quickly standing up. “Take care!”

* * *

"Bye." Cirno muttered to the gate guard as she flew off, gathering speed as she left the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Meiling's response went unheard by the ice fairy; the words far too pedestrian for her highly selective hearing.

The flight home was short, but lacked anything of interest, causing her to think back on her friend's questions. As much as she liked Flandre's company, the blonde vampire shared the ice fairy's tendency to act first and think later. Cirno would never fault someone for such a thing, unless of course it mildly inconvenienced the fairy, but the vampire’s first actions rarely left anything to question.

“Okay,” Cirno muttered to herself, flying towards the island in the middle of the Misty Lake, “go home, pinch one off real quick, and then… go yell at Mima and them, I guess, and… uh…”

Her thoughts scattered to the four winds as the island came into view. Her green-haired friend Daiyousei stood with her back to the ice fairy, staring at something ahead. Landing next to her, Cirno gave her a slap on the shoulder.

“Hey Dai!”

“Oh, Cirno dear…”

"No time to talk, gotta poop!"

The ice fairy only took a step before she stopped. A pile of rubble occupied the last known location of her house. Looking back through the morning mist, she could see the faint outline of the mansion. To the side, the forest was in its usual place.

Her survey finished, she turned her attention back to the strange shattered structure; she could tell she had a mystery on her hands.

"That's your house, Cirno." Daiyousei explained. "It was-"

"Nnn… no, my house is taller than this…"

"No sweetie, it was destroyed."

The ice fairy stared blankly at the ruined building. Her friend continued on. 

"It can happen to houses sometimes. I think you remember when Reimu's shrine collapsed…"

"But…! But…! But that was _their_ things! This is _mine! _ " Cirno's shoulders slumped as Daiyousei patted her back. "I had my stuff in there! And a place to sleep! A place to poop! And… I don't know, other things! Who the heck!?"

"Well…" Her friend handed her a sheet. Opening the cloth, Cirno stared at a crude drawing of three vaguely familiar faces. Her lip slowly curled.

"Okay… now that I have something to wipe with," the blue haired girl bundled up the flag, "I just need some privacy-"

"The rubble around the back end goes up pretty high…"

'- thank you, and once I'm done… Revenge!"

"So… would you like to visit Mystia?"

Cirno let the question hang as she looked around the Forest of Magic. Morning light spilled through the gaps of the boughs, allowing them to see their surroundings with little difficulty. The two knew the creatures out during the day had little interest in faeries and their antics, giving them plenty of time to search the area. The night stalkers however, were not so picky about their meals.

"What? No, revenge meals are for _after_ vengeance."

"Oh. So what are we doing here, then?"

Cirno sighed. "Revenge, Dai! Come on, pay attention!"

The great fairy touched her temple for a moment, wincing. "What led you to believe vengeance could be gained from coming to the Forest of Magic?"

"It's nearby." The blue haired girl slowed as she listened to her surroundings. Daiyousei continued to watch her friend.

"...that's it?"

"It's nearby and-"

"It's _SPRING! _"

The two flinched at the sound of Lily White's voice, turning to find their friend uncomfortably close. Cirno put her fists on get hips as Daiyousei floated out of firing range.

"What do you want, Lily? I'm out for vengeance!"

"That's nice!" Lily leaned closer, her smile threatening to unhinge her jaw. "But you know what's nicer?"

"Winter?"

"sssSSSPRING TIME!!!" The harbinger of Spring glowed brightly; Cirno felt the spell card field wash over her as Lily held her arms out, launching blasts of light all around. Falling back, the ice fairy grit her teeth, dodging what she could as she tried to get a feel for her surroundings. 

Another wave of bullets moved towards her; Cirno reached out and relaxed her control.

“Freezing Sign…” The very air coalesced around the shots, absorbing the heat and trapping them in ice. The frozen bullets slowed, crashing into the other shots. Letting out a sigh, her eyes narrowed. “...Perfect Freeze.”

Cirno released her reins, freezing each bullet faster and faster. Reaching the end of the stream in a flash, the ice leapt out and surrounded the harbinger’s arm. Lily spun herself around, cracking the encasement as she charged up her next attack.

The harbinger opened her mouth and began her song, announcing Spring with melodies and violence. Cirno pressed her attack as she pulled the ambient aether in, causing a harsh cold snap around her. Despite Winter's end, she felt her strength returning in little time at all, allowing her to break Lily's attacks quickly.

"Spring~ is h___! ______-"

Lily paused as her voice disappeared, swallowed by a silence encompassing the entire battle. The spell card field fell apart as she glanced to the side; the harbinger smirked for a moment before flying off with a spin.

"____ ___ ____ ___!" Cirno shouted silently, hearing the words just fine in her brain. Daiyousei drifted back her way, pointing the ice fairy's attention off to the side. Entering the clearing was Luna Child, the blonde Fairy of Light.

“I should have known you would come over here, Cirno…” She sighed, pushing a drill-shaped lock of hair behind an ear. “The forest is close to your home, after all… suppose Sunny _was_ the smart one this time around…”

“Yeah, I knew you guys would hide in the forest!” Cirno folded her arms. “Now you’re gonna pay for-”

“Just me, I’m afraid.”

The icy fairy paused for a moment, considering the information.

“Now _you’re_ going to pay for breaking my house!”

“‘Let’s split up’ she said…” Luna growled to herself, shuffling the books she carried to her bag, “‘she’ll never find us if we do that!’ Played like a damn fiddle I was… at any rate! _I_ didn’t break your house. It-”

“Looked pretty broken to me.”

“Technically it was _razed_.” Luna corrected before grimacing. “And it was… an accident.”

Arms still folded, Cirno raised an eyebrow.

“Cirno…” the fairy of lunar light clenched her hand as she thought, relaxing as she let out a sigh. “That place was one good shove away from collapsing.”

“And you-” Daiyousei started, knowing full well where the conversation was going.

“-gave it a good shove, yes.” Luna finished. “But! I have some good news; I talked to the puppeteer that lives out here and she loaned me some books; I think one will really help you out.”

Unfolding her arms, Cirno approached the fairy of light as their mutual friend floated away once more. Taking the book from her hands, the ice fairy looked at the cover.

“...‘Home Repair for Idiots… Second Edition’.” Lowering the book, Cirno stared at the four-eyed fairy, unamused. “You know I’m going to hurt you for this, right?”

“You were going to anyway,” Luna grinned a cheshire cat smile, pushing her glasses up, “but at least _now_ I deserve it.”

Cirno swung the book with all her might.

* * *

“...and for aiding and abetting The Enemy, I demand a Trial by Combat!”

Cirno scowled up at Alice, hands on her hips. Alice stared down at the fairy, two full feet shorter than her. Behind the magician, Yukari laid upon one of her gaps, watching the exchange with mild amusement.

“I’m very sorry to hear about your house, Cirno.” The puppeteer stated calmly as Shanghai handed her a bag; the sweet scent betrayed the baked goods within. “Did Miss Luna tell you why her and her friends did that?”

“W-well…” The ice fairy paused, realizing the thought of questioning her opponent had never occurred to her. After defeating Luna, the ice fairy instead made straight for Alice’s house. “I mean…”

“Why don’t you find the other two, then?” Alice suggested, giving her shoulder a pat. “Find out their reasoning for doing such a thing. I’ll see if I can arrange some help with your house in a bit.”

“Mm…” Opening the bag, Cirno ate one of the cookies as she mulled over the puppeteer’s words. “I guess… yeah, alright! Come on, Dai!”

Watching her friend dash off, Daiyousei looked up at Alice. “...you need to teach me how to do that, Magister.”

A large grin broke Alice’s calm demeanor. “Truth be told, you’re much better at it than I am. Speaking of…”

Another bag of cookies landed in the great fairy’s hands.

“While I know all things converge there eventually, try to steer her away from the shrine for a few hours. Reimu is currently delegating between Mokou and Kaguya, and things are rather… heated at the moment.”

Daiyousei let out a snort.

“...pardon the pun.”

“I’ll do what I-”

“Hey Dai…!” Cirno called from the edge of the clearing. “Come on…!”

“I’ll do what I can to keep her from your house, Magister.” Daiyousei gave a bow.

“The shrine isn’t-!”

“Sorry, your ‘home away from home’.” She gave a wave as she flew towards her friend. Take care!”

Still smiling, Alice let out a huff before closing the door.

* * *

With Luna Child having long since made her escape, Cirno found herself without any leads. After much deliberation and consumption of cookies, the ice fairy decided to let her instincts guide her once more. It was not long before the two found themselves back at the Misty Lake. 

Light from the late morning sun had burned away most of the fog, leaving clear blue skies. Flying over the crystal waters, Daiyousei gave her friend a sidelong glance.

“...you do remember the condition of your house, right?”

“I- _yes, Dai!_ Cripes!”

“Alright! I just- I mean, we’re heading back towards where your house was, so…” She shrugged, turning back to the path ahead.

"I know! I just… godsdammit."

The great fairy slowed as Cirno came to a stop; she turned to her friend, giving her an inquisitive look.

"... I wanted to put the cookies in the pantry for later." She finally muttered. Daiyousei drifted closer, giving Cirno a pat on the back.

“It’s okay, Cirno.”

The ice fairy grunted in response, devoting all her brainpower to the task at hand. Looking around the lake, she slowly turned back to her friend.

“Hey uh…” Cirno cleared her throat, bouncing the bag in her hand. “If um, I can’t find a place by tonight… do you think I could-?”

“Hm~?”

“Maybe… crash at your place again?”

“Oh. Aheh.”

Slowing down, Daiyousei’s frame shook with a contained laugh, her lips widening into a grin. “Heh heh heh!” She hunched over as her laughter began to leak. “Ah ha ha ha!”

Cirno rubbed her temples with a hand as she held back a groan. “If- if you’re still upset about last time-”

“-AHAHAHAHA…!” The great fair reached out and grabbed her friend’s arm for support as she laughed at her expense, losing altitude as she hyperventilated. “Ah… ah ha ha…! Hah…! Ahah…!”

Catching her breath, Daiyousei’s laughter began to settle, only to restart the giggle loop each time she tried to talk.

“Tell- tell me, dear…” she finally managed to get out, “how long has it been since last ‘stayed over’?”

“Er… ten, eleven years?” Cirno looked away, realizing the mistake of her request. “Haven’t been keeping track of the time on that one…

“Well… that doesn’t sound quite like ‘forever and a _fucking day’_, now does it?”

“No…”

“No, it doesn’t. But don’t worry, my friend…” Daiyousei wrapped an arm around the ice fairy, pulling her close, “if worst comes to worst, I’m certain we can find someone to inflict you upon before the end of the day.”

Cirno stared at the hand on her shoulder for a moment before narrowing her eyes at Daiyousei. “Could- could you _not_ phrase it like that?”

“I could! But I’ve earned it.” The great fairy’s voice took an edge. “And you _know_ that.”

“Wait, I never heard this story-” A red headed fairy suddenly announced, appearing behind the two without warning. “-what happened- _urk! _”

Spinning around, Cirno grabbed Sunny Milk by the collar and glared at the leader of the Fairies of Light. Daiyousei let out a sigh of relief as she moved to minimum safe distance once more, keeping both bags of cookies safe. Sunny blinked at the clenched fists for a moment before looking back at Cirno.

“...wait, that’s right; I was hiding from you. Dammit.”

“Why’d you break my house, jerkass?!”

“Your house, right.” Once more her eyes wandered as she thought. “Your house. It- it broke? No…!”

Leaning back, Cirno slammed her head into Sunny; a loud _CLACK!_ rang across the lake.

“Not in the mood, I see.” She winced, reeling from the horrendous headbutt. “Okay. It uh… it was an accident.”

“An accident?!”

“Yeah!” Working her aggressor’s fingers off of her collar, Sunny continued on. “We wanted to work on a collaboration with you, and while we were looking in your windows, we kinda noticed your house had developed a bit of a lean…”

“It’s been working hard! Everyone slouches after a hard day’s work!” Cirno crossed her arms as she explained. “Besides, I had the Mystic Beams of Support keeping it from getting any worse!”

The Fairy of Light thought back to the early morning. “Is that what those three planks were, that were kinda wedged at an angle against the wall?”

“Yeah!”

“Oooh…! _That’s_ what those were!” Sunny nodded, happy to have the mystery solved. “Yeah, we didn’t know what those were, but I guess they weren’t on the other side, ‘cause after we pushed your house, it sorta leaned the other way, but… you know, kept going.”

“They were unidi- undi- un- they were one direction of support, Sunny!”

“My bad.”

“That’s why they were against the wall! They would have to be in the middle of the house for all directions of support, duh!”

“But yeah… sorry your house sucks. Or ‘sucked’, I guess.”

“Not all of us can find Yggdrasil to live in, okay?!”

“Anyway!” Sunny smiled brightly, glad to have the unpleasantness of the truth dealt with. “You wanna work on a collaboration of some sort? We were thinking of maybe trying to scare-”

“Well.” Cirno interrupted. “I’m kinda working on a project of my own right now, if you’d like to help.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s Plan: Beat The Everloving Shit Out Of The Fairies Of Light.”

“Oh…” Sunny drifted back, her smile fading with her confidence.

“You wanna hear the steps of it?”

“Wow, no.” She let out a nervous laugh, drifting further as Cirno moved closer. “I’m good.”

“That’s fine, I can tell you about it after the fact.”

“Yeah… bye.” Without even a wave, Sunny disappeared from sight.

All across Gensokyo, Cirno was well known for her intelligence, though perhaps not in the way she would have preferred. Her brash nature and inability to care about those outside her circle of friends did little to help first impressions of her, and most were content to let those impressions guide their thoughts on her.

While it was certainly true that Cirno was not the most likely candidate to win a battle of wits, what she lacked in book smarts, she made up for with perception. She had watched the Fairies of Light use their abilities before, and she had seen when they had failed.

Throwing out an arm, she bombarded the Misty Lake with icicles at a shallow angle, kicking up blasts of water which rained down over the area. Not too far away, Sunny reappeared as the artificial rain cancelled out her light refraction.

“Freezing Sign…”

The spell card field washed over the drenched fairy; Sunny let out a whimper.

“Perfect Freeze!”

* * *

Leaving the frozen fairy in the care of the local mermaid, Cirno and Daiyousei returned to their search, drifting back towards the Forest of Magic. Before reaching the forest, the ice fairy spotted a narrow pathway leading between the two, covered in cherry blossoms.

The Path of Spring was not a common area of Gensokyo for the icy fairy to visit. While a few of her friends lived there, and it was indeed a beautiful path, it was also a little too warm for her. However, it did occur to her that such a spot would likely be ideal for the last fairy in hiding.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking…” Cirno started, glancing about.

“Hm~?”

“How much of that were you hamming it up to help draw out Sunny?”

The great fairy was silent for a moment, taking in her surroundings as well.

“...not as much as you’d like.”

The ice fairy simply grumbled a response, turning her full attention back to her task at hand.

The majority of the path itself was quite clear to see through, with only falling petals and blossoms for cover. The petals themselves came from the countless trees flanking the path, granting far more places to hide, and a canopy to cross over in numerous places.

Before much contemplation could be given on how to best search for Star, the two could see someone garbed in black approach. A low, feral growl emerged deep from within Cirno at the sight of Lily White.

“I forgot to tell you, but I think when I checked the calendar, it said ‘Not Cirno’s Day’ today.”

“You know, I think I figured that out, Dai!”

“Shhh…” Lily put a finger to Cirno’s lips, shushing the ice fairy as she pressed her body close, staring her in the eyes. “Sh… sh-sh-sh…”

Moving her hand from Cirno’s lips to the side of her cheek, the tall harbinger brought their full weight against her; Lily’s lips came close to Cirno’s ear. In a quiet, tickling breath, she whispered to the ice fairy.

“It’s Spring…”

“Gods _dammit,_ Lily!” Cirno screamed, pushing the giggling fairy away. “I’m not in the mood for all this shit, today!”

“Eeehehehehe!” Lily White flew up into the canopy, waving both her hands as she fled from retaliation. Before she could launch herself into a ranting tirade, Cirno froze as she heard another giggle. The two snapped their heads to the side and quickly looked for the source of the noise.

Unlike Sunny and Luna, Star Sapphire did not have a supernatural way to hide herself, instead serving as their radar. However, because she had a tendency to view her friends as an ablative defense, Star had learned how to move quietly so she could remain safe when she realized a plan was going awry.

A gust of wind picked up as the temperature dropped; Daiyousei let out a sneeze. Icicles formed in the air as Cirno watched a path of branches sway with more force than normal. With a wave of her arm, she launched her attack.

“Meep!” The two could hear a muffled cry; the swaying stopped as the wind died down once more. Before she could attack once more, a few pebbles rained down from the side, causing her to lose her place.

“...I’m not going to leave, Star.” Cirno called out, anger tinting her voice. They could hear a shuffle from above, but no telltale signs of movement have her away.

"Um, you haven't given me much incentive to come out, you know." Star Sapphire responded, her words echoing through the canopy. "What are you even angry about, any-"

"My house!"

"Gods, you're _still_ mad about that?"

"Bitch, it was just a couple of hours ago!"

"Ah, you still remember then. Hm. At any rate, it wasn't my idea to do that, so… you know. Go talk to Sunny."

"Princess Waggy is-"

Cirno paused as Daiyousei drifted away, holding a finger to her lips; the two could hear movement in the boughs. The ice factory gave a nod as they drifted further apart, trying to locate the source.

"Cirno?" Star called out once more. "Oh dear…"

With her ability to sense moment, Star had a tendency to rely on keeping herself hidden over being able to observe her pursuers. On the off-chance of getting corned, she could typically rely on her silver tongue to escape, especially if Sunny and Luna had already sated their opponent's bloodlust.

The ice fairy had anger to spare. Her silence made it hard for the remaining Fairy of Light to keep track of who was who.

Another burst of cold wind blew through the trees, giving Star another opportunity to move. The two sources paused as they observed the movements, no doubt attempting to watch for a flash of colour. The Fairy of Light had hoped Cirno would continue to rant, giving her a chance to move further away. She knew her lack of luck was from Daiyousei’s influence; the ice fairy was always harder to predict when she had someone to act as her sense of reason.

The temperature dropped dramatically; Star Sapphire staggered to a halt as her senses were overloaded with movement. Icicles and frozen blasts bombarded her hiding place as one of the larger things made a beeline to her. Diving down to avoid being overwhelmed, the Fairy of Light could feel the spell card field wash over her.

“I’m certain we can-!” Star Sapphire started as she turned to face her opponent.

Cirno responded with a right hook.

  
  


Marisa 

“So… feel better?”

Cirno continued to stare at Star Sapphire; the Fairy of Light let out a groan as she lay in a pile of ever growing cherry petals.

“...not really.” She muttered. The fight did not take long once it started; Star was known for letting the other two do the heavy lifting in combat, and she was unused to fighting alone. Cirno, unfortunately, had anger to spare. Running a hand through her hair, she turned to Daiyousei. “Look, I’m going to go blow off some steam somewhere. I’ll… I’ll see you later.”

The great fairy took a look at the sky before smiling wistfully at her friend. “Alright, dear. I’ll meet you at Mystia’s stand around evening; does that sound good?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Come here…” Giving her friend a hug, Daiyousei turned back towards the defeated fairy as Cirno took off.

* * *

It had been a long day for Cirno, longer than a day had any right to be. She had lost her home, got insulted, made fun of, and had been given a shocking amount of disrespect for being the strongest in Gensokyo.

And it was only noon.

She had lived long enough to know that when a Bad Day started, it would overstay its welcome until the Next Day arrived. They never got bored, called in sick, nor would they ever leave early; Bad Days _stayed_.

“Wonder what else can go wrong today…” She muttered, flying towards the Human Village. Up ahead she spotted Marisa looking around; the magician glanced her way before heading directly towards the ice fairy.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could recall Mima berating her about taunting fate. Before she could try to piece together why the memory came to her, the human magician was already within talking distance.

“Cirno, have you seen-”

“I really don’t give a crap.” The ice fairy interrupted; Marisa’s eye twitched.

“Mokou, you little shit.” She pressed on through clenched teeth. “Have you seen her?”

“Oh, yeah. We hang out a lot.” Cirno nodded, giving the magician a stupefied look. “The ice fairy and the _eternally burning woman_. Yeah. Totally best of friends. Of course I-”

The spell card field expanded outwards as a string of bombs came her way; Cirno released her power, freezing the explosions and bullets leading to the Magician. Marisa blasted the end of the expanding ice with her mini-hakkero as she pulled out a spell card.

“Light Sign: Mysterious Beam.” She incanted, sending two massive lasers spinning around her.

Cirno quickly froze a wave of bullets, shielding herself from the burning onslaught before returning fire, interrupting the spell card.

A lull in the battle formed as Marisa’s card collapsed. The magician scowled at the ice fairy, squeezing her focus in her vice-like grip. Her golden eyes smoldered with hate, sending a shiver down Cirno’s spine. The surrounding aether grew saturated with power as the magician channeled her might.

“...fine.”

Deep in her mind, the ice fairy realized she had pulled the tiger’s tail. How bad her day had been did not matter to Marisa, and the magician was not known for letting people get away when she was in a foul mood.

Steeling herself, Cirno pressed her attack.

Marisa flinched in shock as the spell card field collapsed with her card. Cirno lowered her arm as she panted, trying desperately to catch her breath. Fanning out her cards, the human could see each one was as black as the void.

Restacking her cards once more, the magician peered at the ice fairy; she had expected a lot more jubilation and insufferable smugness for winning the match. Instead, she seemed as she always did when the two fought.

“Dammit…” Cirno breathed, wiping her mouth.

“...you alright, Cirno?” Marisa asked, her anger spent. By her fourth card, the magician had forged her rage into a tempered discipline, using the fight as more of a test and observation of Cirno’s skills instead of simply trying to overcome her. The ice fairy had an unusual amount of power for the time of year, and had felt far more motivated than in previous fights. However, she lost track of her cards, costing her the fight despite ending in better condition.

“Look, it’s been a shitty day, okay?!” She snapped; Marisa sighed.

“How ‘bout I make you lunch, eh?” The magician pulled her onto the back of the broom. “An’ you can tell me about it while you eat.”

“...that sounds good.” The ice fairy mumbled; Marisa gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Arright, hold on tight, gotta pick up supplies first.”

* * *

“Did you find her?” Mima asked as the two entered, giving the ice fairy a look.

“Nah, something… came up, tell you in a bit.” Marisa gave Cirno a pat on the shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen. “Ran into Reisen in town though; asked her to keep an eye out.”

The lich grunted in response.

“Where’s Reimu?”

Mima turned the page in her grimoire. “Sleeping in her god pile, hold off on making anything for ‘em for now.”

“Arright.”

Cirno quietly reached out and grabbed the pipe next to the lich. She enjoyed her trips to the shrine, despite so many of its residents being grumpy. She knew she could count on them for important things, even if the important things made them even crankier.

The cogs began to turn in Cirno’s head once more. Turning to Mima, her train of thought came to a halt as she spotted the lighter in her outstretched hand.

“Ah, thanks.”

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, her thoughts resumed movement.

“So…” The ice fairy’s chin hit the table as she slumped over. “Why the hell haven’t either of you idiots taught Flandre about how humans age?”

Returning from the kitchen, Marisa’s brows pinched together as she sat between the two; Mima’s grimoire slowly lowered, her face unusually intense.

“..._what? _”

“I was comin’ over here to ask you that before I found my home all wrecked and shit.” Cirno let out a sigh, remembering the early morning. “She was talking about how she’s noticed Marisa getting taller and stuff and I kinda thought to myself ‘I’m not going to be the one to explain this to her.’ So I left.”

“I guess we _are_ the only two normal humans she knows…” Marisa thought aloud; the ice fairy scoffed.

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “You two are about as normal as Remilia.”

The magician bristled. “Well! I mean as far as ‘normal body’ sense! Sakuya’s human but she literally controls time! Patchouli’s said that she was already serving Remilia when they met, and even the idiot vampire can’t remember when she hired her! Sakuya herself can’t remember because she picks up a couple extra weeks on top of us every year with how often she stops time!”

“And Youmu is only half-human, so she ages like Keine does. I think she’s maybe only met Sanae once or twice...” Mima absentmindedly nodded before her face turned sour. “Idiot vampire is right; that topic is a powder keg waiting to happen.”

“Duh,” Cirno rolled her eyes, “that’s why I left.”

“Knowing you, you probably didn’t even have the decency to change the subject before leaving, did you?” The spectre let out a groan as Ruukoto set a plate before her.

“Look, she doesn’t always give time to set up a spell card field before using her power, arright?” Cirno snapped back as she picked up her chopsticks. “It hurts when she does that… sometimes it still does even after I come back.”

The two magicians exchanged looks as their guest began to dig into her food.

“And then before I can even yell at her, she gives me that kicked puppy dog look and goes ‘oh, I didn’t _mean_ to do that! I’m sorry…’ and then I can’t even get angry at her!”

“Yeah, it sucks when people show remorse, eh?” Mima shook her head with a sigh.

“Look- it’s been a day, okay?!”

“Yeah, you said something about your house…?” Marisa prompted.

“You _lost? _ “ Mima repeated, her voice low. Cirno sat off to the side, her head in the clouds. She had tried with all her might to keep up with Marisa and Mima’s smoking as she told her story, but few people had the fortitude for such a thing. “And she didn’t-?”

Marisa shook her head. “I don’t think she realized she won. And she was hitting harder than normal. She used her ice to shield herself from the Master Spark until she could get out of the way.”

“Damn.” The lich raised her eyebrows. “...she’s getting really close to shifting to a youkai.”

“Mm. Eiki mentioned something like that back then, too.”

They looked over at Cirno and both sighed.

“...also, ‘Mystic Beams of-’?”

Marisa tried her hardest not to laugh as she rested her head against her palm.

“I don't- I think Meiling gave her some two-by-fours they had in storage when she was complaining about her house leaning once. They were just regular pieces of wood, I don’t know why she calls them that.”

“Got a nice naming sense, at least.”

They went quiet once more, observing the fairy.

“...you going to tell her she won?”

“...probably not.”

“Well. Either way, if she couldn't tell, then I’m still going to have to talk to Yukari about making tweaks to the rules.” Mima growled. “Dammit.”

“Good evening, ladies~” The door opened, revealing Aya Shameimaru. “I was asked to make a pick-up by Magister Margatroid?”

Mima nodded, pointing at the ice fairy.

“Aw, poor girl…!” The crow tengu picked up her friend, beaming at the mages. “Well folks! You have a wonderful time, and I shall see you later!”

“Take care, Aya.” Marisa nodded, priming the pipe. “Make sure she gets some rest; she deserves it.”

* * *

“Hey there, sleepyhead!”

Cirno sat up, bubbles blinking in front of her eyes. She recognized the interior of Aya’s room turned office. The crow tengu stood close by, making coffee.

“How much do you remember?”

“Hm…” The ice fairy took her drink, staring at the black liquid as she put her brain to work. “Ruu made us lunch, and I was tellin’ Marisa about my day, and… gets kinda hazy after that…”

“Yeah, you were trying to keep up with them.” Aya tsked, sitting next to her. “I warned ya about chasing that dragon…!”

“Hmph.”

“Oh… don’t sulk, my friend!” The crow pulled her close, nearly causing a scalding spill. “Nitori’s fixin’ up your house! It seems Alice contacted her, and they rounded up the Fairies of Light to help with the construction!”

“...really?” She asked before taking a sip; the ice fairy winced. “Cripes, Aya! I’m glad you’re so sweet, ‘cause this is bitter!”

“Aw…! Anyway, you can stay here until they finish, okay?”

“Oh, thanks!”

She went quiet as she took another sip.

“...you didn’t happen to talk to Dai, did you?”

“Yep! But don’t worry… my house is stronger than hers!”

Cirno smiled up at the crow tengu; much like Daiyousei, she could always count on Aya to give her what she needed. It was not always what she _wanted_, but she knew she could count on them both.

“At any rate, now that you’re properly wired…”

“So bitter…!”

“I still need to get your side of the story!” Aya grinned, her pen poised above her notebook. “I heard from each of the Fairies of Light, and Miss Daiyousei said you were kicking ass and taking names! Even Miss Marisa was impressed with you today!”

“Oh! Well-” Cirno’s smile was short-lived as she took another sip. “Eugh… anyway! I was heading home from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, when-”

Aya’s pen moved quickly as Cirno told her tale, happy for the receptive audience. She knew once she was done, Aya herself would have some stories to share, providing entertainment for the rest of the night.

It would be a few days before she could return home, but sitting in Aya’s room, talking with the reporter, Cirno no longer felt the overwhelming dread she once had. She could tell that despite the morning, it would be another peaceful evening.

**Author's Note:**

> So you might be thinking "hey, what happened to Double Spoiler? Shouldn't that be next?" And you're right, it should! But... I couldn't find a purpose for the chapter while I was writing it. I started on it shortly after ending 12.3, hit about 4,000 words over the course of a few months and reached Hina, but I was having a hard time getting a good focus on it.
> 
> (And then Shadowbringers for FFXIV came out.)
> 
> I figured I could either continue to bash my head against it and make progress at a glacial pace, or I could move ahead, and try to come back to it later. I *do* want to finish it, but it may be a bit before I can find out the best way to go forward with it.


End file.
